An ICE raid in the home of a 56-year-old US citizen, where he was detained only wearing underwear, is sparking emotions. ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a grandfather, was forced to leave his home in 12-degree weather and is looking into legal action against ICE. Now, the federal law enforcement agency has responded.
On Sunday, ChongLy “Scott” Thao was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) in his home in St Paul, Minnesota. The 56-year-old grandfather’s daughter-in-law heard banging on the door.
Thao told her not to open. Instead, masked ICE agents forced their way in, pointing guns at the family, he recalled to AP.
“I was shaking,” he told AP. “They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.”
Thao, who has been a US citizen for many decades, was told he was detained. Even though he asked his daughter-in-law to get his identification, the ICE agents said they didn’t want to see it.
His 4-year-old grandson was watching, crying. ChongLy Thao was then led out wearing only his underwear, sandals, and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
56-year old grandpa was detained by ICE in freezing cold wearing only underwear
Speaking with NBC, he explained, “They just took me out there with no clothes on and then just covered me with my grandson’s blanket. Yeah, they just took me out there, and I was like, ‘Man, this is, this is embarrassing.”
Thao’s ICE encounter was caught on video as more than a dozen agents were seen leaving his house. Louansee Moua, Thao’s sister-in-law, said it was “heartbreaking.”
“You can’t get it out of your head. He has no clothes, and it’s, like, 12 degrees and it’s snowing,” she told NBC.
ChongLy Thao told AP that the agents threw him into a car and drove him “to the middle of nowhere.” They made him get out of the car in the freezing weather so they could take a picture of him.
The grandfather feared they were going to beat him up. Agents told ChongLy to show them his ID, which agents had previously prevented him from retrieving.
Left without apologizing
Thao, who has been a US citizen for decades, said that as he was being detained, he asked his daughter-in-law to find his identification. The ICE told him they didn’t want to see it.
An hour or two later, as the agents realized he was a US citizen without a criminal record, they brought him back to his house. They left without apologizing for detaining him or breaking his door, Thao said.
ICE agents have caused fear and furious reactions in Minneapolis and St Paul in recent weeks as they have faced backlash from both residents and local leaders for their behavior.
Warrantless arrests and the killing of Renee Nicole Good are just two of the reasons.
St Paul Mayor Kaohly Her commented on ChongLy Thao’s arrest, saying that ICE “is not doing what they say they’re doing.”
“They’re not going after hardened criminals. They’re going after anyone and everyone in their path. It is unacceptable and un-American,” she stated.
Family of detained grandfather says DHS uses “false and misleading claims”
After the incident with the 56-year-old grandfather, the US. Department of Homeland Security explained the operation at Thao’s home as a “targeted operation,” where they were seeking two convicted sex offenders.
“The US citizen lives with these two convicted sex offenders at the site of the operation,” DHS said. “The individual refused to be fingerprinted or facially ID’d. He matched the description of the targets.”
However, in a statement, Thao’s family states they “categorically dispute” that story, adding that they “strongly objects to DHS’s attempt to publicly justify this conduct with false and misleading claims.”
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